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Petitioning for the preservation of our pets
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Posted by editor Wed Nov 30, -0001 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 1 comment More than 300 signatures have been attained during the two weeks since Susie Atherton, owner of Canine Creek Dog Wash & Boutique, began circulating a petition urging both city and county leaders to work together to develop and fund a full service animal shelter in the Tehachapi area.

Atherton is adamant that it is becoming increasingly necessary to address the area’s growing animal abandonment, hoarding and overpopulation problems. With patience and time on her side, Atherton said she will do “whatever it takes” to make her vision a reality, even if it takes “dog years.”

“It took me three years to get 800 signatures to get the dog park behind Meadobrook Park initiated,” said Atherton adding that the Tehachapi Valley Parks & Recreation District has plans to begin work on the dog park in the spring of 2008. “I’m just going to keep screaming and yelling and making noise until something gets done.”

According to Supervisor Don Maben, Atherton and her fellow animal supporters are barking up the wrong tree.

“We have one shelter in Mojave [serving East Kern, in addition to a shelter in Bakersfield] and that’s where its going to stay,” Maben said. “We don’t have enough money to improve the ones we have now. Our goal is to provide as much service as possible by hiring more officers and more staff.”

Maben also said the organization is currently in the process of hiring a department head, “to increase oversight by putting in a higher level of management.”

According to Maben, the Animal Control Commission is currently working out the details of two new proposed ordinances. One would limit the number of animals per household and another is a mandatory spay and neutering program. He said those ordinances will be brought before the board of supervisors early next spring, at about the same time new litters of puppies and kittens have a tendency to show up on the doorstep of the local Humane Society.

“Kern County is one of the most backward and barbaric counties in the country when it comes to animal control because their idea of ‘animal control’ is to kill the animal,” said Tehachapi Humane Society member Chelley Kitzmiller in a Letter to the Editor (see page B2). “Here in Tehachapi, the animal problem really is a problem. We have no facility where stray or abandoned animals can be housed. The few foster homes we have are always filled to capacity. Sometimes more people come to the Tehachapi Humane Society’s adoption days to get rid of dogs, than those who come to adopt them.”

Those who regularly read the Letters to the Editor or the Tehachapi Humane Society (THS) Updates are familiar with the increasing phenomenon of animals being abandoned in Tehachapi. After it was announced that the Humane Society office installed security cameras in an attempt to identify and prosecute those who abandon animals there, dogs were left the next week at Starbucks, KMart and the Tehachapi Pet Lodge.

“Too numerous to count,” describes the boxes of helpless kittens left on THS’ unattended doorstep to freeze or starve over the course of a weekend, said THS representatives.

Atherton said if animals are found on a Sunday, there’s simply nowhere to take them since both Mojave and Bakersfield shelters are closed.

“At the very least we need a holding facility here, until animals can be transported to a safe place.”

Although daunted by the growing problem, like the proverbial bull dog, Atherton maintains that she simply won’t back down.

“Canine Creek is taking a stand against the illegal animal abandonment, neglect and hoarding that is occurring in our area at an alarming rate. Tehachapi is a growing city, and we need a local animal shelter. We insist that the Tehachapi City Manager and Kern County Board of Supervisors take this issue seriously, and make solving it a priority,” said Atherton.

Those interested in signing Atherton’s petition can do so at Canine Creek Dog Wash & Boutique, Radio Shack and the Tehachapi Pet Lodge.

For more information about the proposed Animal Control Ordinances, visit http://www.co.kern.ca.us/ac... and click on Draft Ordinance Amendments or c all the Animal Control Commission and Resource Management Agency at 862-8800. 

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Comment From: caninecreek

PETITION UPDATE: As of 10/30/07, there are 570 signatures on the animal shelter petition. A heartfelt thank you to all who are helping with this project, including the Tehachapi Humane Society, Books & Crannies, Radio Shack, Tehachapi Pet Lodge, and many pet-loving individuals. The goal is a minimum of 3,000 signatures, so keep em coming! Susie Atherton, Canine Creek